2 Sqdn SAAF (Flying Cheetahs) in Korea

Cloth squadron patch worn by the "Flying Cheetahs" in Korea. The motto
is "Upwards and Onwards".

During the Second World War 2 Squadron of the South African Air Force
saw action against the Italians in East Africa in support of 1 South African
Brigade. It was here that they were nicknamed "The Flying Cheetahs" because
they kept two pet cheetahs as mascots.

In April 1941 the squadron transferred to Egypt to join the Desert
Air Force. In early 1942 they received Kittyhawk 1A aircraft, but these
were no match for the aircraft of the Luftwaffe, and when the squadron
moved to Sicily in 1943 they were re-equipped with Spitfire VCs and later
Spitfire IXs. The squadron scored a major success in April 1944 when, together
with 7 Wing SAAF, they attacked the Banja Luka airfield in Yugoslavia and
destroyed 40 enemy aircraft.

When the Korean war broke out on 25 June 1950 with some 90,000
North Korean soldiers and hundreds of Russian-built T-34 tanks crossing
the border and overwhelming the South Korean forces, South Africa, as one
of the founding members of the United Nations, decided to contribute a
fighter squadron to the Allied Forces. The UN had acted quickly, calling
for a cease-fire, and, when this was ignored, passing a resolution authorizing
the UN to send troops to help South Korea. The South African Prime Minister,
Dr. D.F. Malan, stated during the debate that followed South Africa's decision
to take part that he felt it was South Africa's duty to side with the anti-Communist
countries to combat 'aggressive communism' wherever necessary.

Thus it was that while General MacArthur was gathering all the
troops, aircraft and ships he could muster in the far east, 50 officers
and 157 other ranks of 2 Squadron sailed from Durban on 26 September 1950
for Yokohama Harbour, where they were welcomed by the Americans. Altogether,
15 other nations sent troops and equipment to join the main American force
in the far east. Their contribution was small when compared with the large
American commitment, but served to emphasize the unity of the countries
of the UN in making a stand against communist aggression.

The pilots of 2 Squadron underwent conversion training on F-51D
Mustangs and by 16 November were ferrying their aircraft across to Pusan
East Air Base in Korea.. Three days later two of the pilots took off together
with two USAAF pilots to fly the first South African combat sorties of
the war. At that time MacArthur had just made his famous landing at Inchon
and the Americans were pursuing the fleeing North Korean troops towards
the Yalu, confident that victory was in sight.

The South African squadron came under the operational control
of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing of the US Fifth Air Force, which was the
tactical air force of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF). The task of 2 Squadron
was to destroy enemy air power, support the ground troops, fly air strikes,
and carry out reconnaissance flights for the ground troops.

Within a few weeks of the start of 2 Squadron's operations, however,
the situation had changed. On 16 October 1950 the Fourth Field Army of
the Chinese People's Republic began crossing the Yalu River in secret.
At first the Americans thought it was a 'limited intervention' by Chinese
volunteers to help the North Koreans avoid total defeat, but by the end
of November it became clear that the Chinese had entered the war against
the UN forces. Full scale attacks by the Chinese started on 26 November
and 2 Squadron was thrown into a major air effort to stop the flood of
over 200,000 Chinese troops from overrunning the now retreating UN forces.
The weather at this time was extremely cold and the ground crews worked
under freezing conditions to keep the Mustangs flying, often having to
scrape ice and snow off the aircraft before they could take off.

On 5 December the first SAAF aircraft was lost when it attacked
a railway truck that turned out to be loaded with explosives. The resulting
blast knocked the pilot temporarily unconscious and he was forced to crash
land. An American L5 aircraft later landed on a narrow road near the crash
site and was able to rescue the pilot and his observer. The squadron flew
numerous sorties to assist the hard-pressed ground forces, but were continually
moved back to new bases as the communist advance continued. Despite the
all-out air offensive, the UN troops were pushed back to Seoul and on 6
January 1951 they abandoned the city and moved further back to pre-arranged
defensive positions. The air attacks were intensified and the aircraft
found that they were subject to an increasing amount of ground fire from
the communist forces. During February at least 3 SAAF aircraft were lost
as a result of small arms fire while strafing enemy vehicles and troop
positions.

On 1 March the squadron flew 32 sorties in one day, establishing
a new record in 18 Fighter-Bomber Wing, destroying 7 vehicles and 2 tanks,
but at the same time losing another 2 pilots. By this time General Ridgeway
had decided to counter-attack in Central Korea and sent the 25th US Division
across the Han River. The communists abandoned Seoul and on 15 March the
8th US Army drove into Hongchu in the central area. No 2 Squadron was by
now fully integrated into 18 FBW and was building a reputation for operational
skill and aggressiveness. By 12 April 1951 the squadron had flown 2000
sorties against the enemy and received a letter of appreciation from Lt.Gen.
Stratemeyer, Commanding General of the Far East Air Forces. Lt.Gen. Patridge,
Commander of the 5th Air Force also complimented the South Africans on
their 'outstanding performance'.

On 22 April the communists launched another major offensive with
70 divisions, forcing the UN forces to withdraw in some sectors of the
front, but by the end of the month the attack petered out, largely due
to the efforts of the air force in disrupting enemy transport and supply
dumps. On 9 May a huge strike, comprising 300 aircraft, took place on the
communist air base at Sinuiju and Major Blaauw of 2 Squadron was awarded
the American Silver Star decoration for his part in protecting and rescuing
a downed pilot. By 22 May the communist offensive had collapsed and by
the beginning of June the UN forces were again in possession of all South
Korean territory.

On 24 June another SAAF pilot won the American DFC when he led
3 other Mustangs in an attack on enemy troops that were poised to overrun
an American position. One of the Marines later commented that:

we were catching all hell because of an overwhelming Gook counter-attack.
The tide of battle was leaving casualties in its wake like seashells cast
upon a beach. It was then we saw four silvery streaks plummet from the
skies with guns blazing. It was so wondrous a sight we completely forgot
our whereabouts or line and just stood up in our foxholes and cheered.
The Hall of Fame does not possess any greater men than those who flew that
day.

In July, with the start of peace talks at Punmanjon the air war entered
a new phase, with the emphasis now on maintaining air superiority. On 8
July 2 Squadron had its first encounter with MiG-15 fighters, but the Mustangs
managed to beat them off. A new major offensive was launched by the UN
forces on 18 August, and 2 Squadron was kept extremely busy. On 25 September
the squadron flew 40 sorties in one day, the highest number since its arrival
in Korea. In a total of 4920 sorties in its first year, the squadron had
lost 36 of its 61 aircraft, but had destroyed over 2000 buildings, 458
vehicles, 14 tanks, 13 bridges and numerous other targets.

On 20 March 1952 the squadron had its second encounter with MiGs
when a flight of 4 Mustangs was attacked by 5 MiGs, resulting in one Mustang
being shot down and one MiG damaged. The communists now also had flak batteries
placed along all their railway lines, making air attacks extremely dangerous.
Nevertheless the air attacks were increased in order to put pressure on
the communists at the peace talks.

The increasing appearance of MiGs led to No 2 Squadron being re-
equipped with F-86F Sabre jets, and training courses were held in Japan
in November. The last mission flown by Mustangs was on 27 December, and
by January the first Sabres had arrived. Training of the SAAF pilots continued
into February and by 12 March the squadron was once more flying sorties.
The squadron was mainly employed in a ground attack role as the Sabre proved
to be an excellent aircraft for dive-bombing, carrying two 1000lb bombs
or napalm and rockets.

In June and July the communists again launched a massive offensive
against the UN forces, and despite bad weather the air force was again
called on to give air support to the troops, carrying out their task so
effectively that the Communist offensive ground to a halt and their delegates
at the peace talks decided the time had come to end the war. In order to
prevent the enemy from building up its air power in the meantime, the UN
aircraft continued to carry out intensive attacks.

Finally, on 27 July an armistice was signed, with 2 Squadron flying
a record 41 sorties that day before the armistice finally went into effect.
The overall total of sorties flown by 2 Squadron during the war was 12,067
and altogether 34 pilots and 2 ground crew had been lost. By October all
operational flying had ended and at the end of the month the SAAF pilots
began to return home to South Africa. As the last of them was about to
leave Korea the Commander of 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing showed his high regard
for the Flying Cheetahs by issuing a Policy Order which said:

In memory of our gallant South African comrades, it is hereby
established, as a new policy that all Retreat Ceremonies held by this Wing,
the playing of our National Anthem shall be preceded by playing the introductory
bars of the South African National Anthem, 'Die Stem van Suid-Afrika'.
All personnel of this Wing will render the same honours to this Anthem
as our own.